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Blurry vision and lack of concentration/any answers?

Hi everyone,
I wanted to ask the group if anyone has experienced blured vision and memory issues with LUPUS?
I have in the past had tingling in my arm, and got to a point where i became so forgetful that i lost three pairs of eye glasses in two months. At that time i told my Dr. about it, and he sent me to get an MRI. It came back normal, so then he sent me to a neurologist, just to make sure, but i never really made it there (lost insurance, then symptoms went away, then got insurance again and simply forgot). I am having some issues with my insurance again now, and probably will not be able to go to the doctors for at least one more month, maybe two. I was wondering if anyone out there has had these symptoms.
my eyes: they get blurry, and out of focous- its like all of the sudden my prescription is not good enough. The doctor told me that i also have sjogenrs (sp?)- constant dry eyes, which i take care of with lubricating drops. but this is different. they are not red, simply become out of focous. At first i thought it might be work (computer, or something) but it also happens now in the middle of the day or in the mornings.

my head: i cant seem to concentrate, i forget things easily... i go to my boss office, and stand there not knowing why, come back,and foget again. I'm misplacing things again, and although i have many things to do, i cant seem to get them started or to stay on them too long. This is not really typical of me. I was never forgetful, never the kind of girl that would lock her keys in her car.

The tingling and numbness of my arms and even legs is there as well, but its cold now, so i attribute it to that. So anyone out there had these symptoms, and if so, is there some medication or action taken by your doctor?, i worry that is the case, since i wot be able to visit with him for a while. should i be worried? other than that, things seem to be about the same... still having my shoulder pain, which has turned into both arms and more like arm pain (lifting them up, sudden movements, etc.) they are very sore all the time, like as if i had over excerciced them at the gym, and everyday is the morning after.
thanks and hopefully somone can help me dicipher the latest batch of symptoms.

Tatiana - Forgetful is now my middle name. I blame it on Prednisone, because I never had it before. Also, when I was on higher doses of Prednisone, I'd get something like blurry vision onece in a while, like maybe once a day. It'd be wierd - I'd be looking at something, then all of a sudden it would look like it was shaking really fast. Anyway, I blamed that on Prednisone, too, since I haven't had it on lower doses.......hmm. Don't know what else to tell you - I hat the forgetful part, because now I have no credibility when I actually do remember something!

well...the thing is

Thanks Missy, but my problem is that I'm NOT on prednisone. I am currently only taking aspirin for the clotting antibodies, and I was on vioxx, but i'm off it now that it's been pulled from the market. In the meantime, i am only relying on Aleve for my aches and fevers, since i cant see my doctor to prescribe me somehting else until a couple of months from now.
My main usual symptoms are joint pain(wrists, hips, knees, arms, you name it!), fatigue, headaches, fevers, some light sensitivity, depression, tummy problems, dry eyes and mouth, raynaud's and anemia. There is no organ involvement, and for the past 2 months or so, my only medicine is Aspirin and Aleve.
Since this eye thing is new, and so is the memory - at least new since my last MRI, i'm concrened that it could be something new... I read somewhere, maybe here about it possibly being neurological related, and i'm concerend and wodered if anyone else- that is not on prednisone- suffers from anything like it. That way, i can just attribute it to Lupus, and not worry about it too much. anyone that can help, please let me know.
Thanks! :?

Hi Tatiana:
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation, pain and tissue damage throughout the body. Often chronic, it affects mainly women. There is currently no cure for lupus, although treatments can ease symptoms.
Doctors throughout the world are now recognizing the importance of subtle forms of brain involvement in lupus as well as the more obvious brain problems. Doctor's and patients should never underestimate brain involvement. It may vary from mild depression, to memory loss, to much more severe problems such as seizures. In general there are two main causes of brain disease in lupus. The first is lupus disease itself which can cause alterations in the brain activity. The second is the clotting disorder associated with some lupus patients, the antiphospholipid or Hughes syndrome. It is very, very important for the doctor to try to distinguish between these two major causes of neurologic involvement as the treatments are clearly very different.
The antiphospholipid syndrome is a disorder of the immune system that is characterized by excessive clotting of blood and/or certain complications of pregnancy (premature miscarriages, unexplained fetal death, or premature birth) and antiphospholipid antibodies (cardiolipin or lupus anticoagulant antibodies). Patients with antiphospholipid syndrome have developed abnormal symptoms while having antiphospholipid antibodies detectable in the blood.
Antiphospholipid syndrome is also called the phospholipid antibody syndrome. Antiphospholipid syndrome has been referred to as Hughes syndrome in honor of the doctor who first described it.

It is important to note that antiphospholipid antibodies can also be found in the blood of individuals without any disease process. In fact, antiphospholipid antibodies have been reported in approximately 2 percent of the normal population. Harmless antiphospholipid antibodies can be detected in the blood for a brief period occasionally in association with a wide variety of conditions, including bacterial, viral (hepatitis, HIV), and parasite (malaria) infections. Certain drugs can cause antiphospholipid antibodies to be produced in the blood, including antibiotics, cocaine, hydralazine, procainamide, and quinine.

As treatments lengthened the lives of lupus sufferers, doctors began to notice increased cognitive decline in many of their aging patients. However, the brain cell death found in these patients wasn't always linked to expected causes, such as stroke or inflammation. Her team identified a specific autoimmune antibody, called anti-NR2, which has a special affinity for glutamate receptors lying on the surface of neurons and other cells.

Healthy individuals usually rid themselves of most of these auto-antibodies, but Diamond found high blood concentrations of the antibodies in 40 to 60 percent of lupus patients. In his team's most recent study, Volpe used a mouse model to determine just how these antibodies breach the blood-brain barrier, allowing them access to healthy neurons.

The temporary inflammation you can get during a cold, the flu or lupus flare-up can 'open the gate' for antibodies to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Thinking is disturbed in lupus with or without the MRI patterns of white matter. Formal mental tests of patients with lupus show numerous thought disturbances, such as:

* Difficulty with concentration
* Difficulty with abstract thinking
* Depression
* Occasionally manic states
Let me know if this information has been helpful to you or if you need any more information!
Peace and Blessings
Saysusie

thanks

Thanks so much. There is so much information out there, and its almost painful to try and understand it all. i really do appreciate you taking your time to furhter define it and place it into context.
Thankfully my health insurance issues seemed resolved, and i will be able to go see a doctor sooner than later. Thanks again.

Thank you Saysusie - that was all really interesting to read, and I didn't know any of it before. I think I've been so concentrating on kidney stuff that I've forgotten to study up on other parts of the body, too!

vision etc..

Hi there

Just wanted to let you know that alot of what you described is similar to what I experience. Apparently lupus is an inherently inflammatory condition,,,,so when you have some of these weird symptoms, they can sometimes be explained by inflammation. I was having weird tingling in my joints, felt like there was "electricity" in them, turns out its tendonitis from lupus (inflammation of the tendons)...I also have blurry vision but no underlying visual problem ...again they say its inflammation and that hopefully the prednisone and Cell Cept (those are my main meds) will eventually work....so you;re not alone. I know alot of lupus people have memory issues - I think its called "brain fog"....for me, I have nervous system lupus, so unfortunately my brain is whats being attacked...so I am always confused, forgetful etc... anyway I hope this helps somewhat.

Hi. I'm new here, but will throw in my 2 cents worth anyway. My vision goes blurry from time to time and the opthamologist says it's the dryness from Sjogrens. She recommends that I use lubricating drops more often for that. It's important to get regular eye exams, though, to make sure. I have signs of glaucome and take Plaquinil, so I'm in there every 6 months.

I know what you mean about problems thinking. I just saw a neurologist for difficutlty concentrating, finding words, decreased work performance, tingling in various body parts... My rheumy was worried about MS - but the neurologist said I have enough other diagnoses already - I don't need another one to explain all this :lol:

Make sure you follow up with the other doctors about your eyes and neuro symptoms and let us know what you find out.